


Timidity

by DragonSilk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 16:41:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6618304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your father sent you to the Pharaoh's court in the hopes that you might catch the Pharaoh's eye. </p>
<p>Somehow, you catch the eye of one of his High Priests instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timidity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CloudySky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudySky/gifts).



> This was part of a one-shot booklet on another site. I'm breaking it up as I bring the fics over here. This was written with the prompt "Timidity". 
> 
> Here are the original notes:  
> High Priest Seto is peculiar because he's Kaiba, only not. Their personalities have a lot of overlap, but they aren't the same person at all. This was my first time attempting him, even though I have wanted to for a while.  
>   
> Written for CloudySky~♥  
> Enjoy~

**Timidity**  adj.  
Fear of the unknown or unfamiliar or fear of making decisions

\------

Just thinking about being presented to the Pharaoh was beginning to drive you crazy with nerves. Your father had high hopes for you. He was hoping that if you stayed as a guest in the Pharaoh's court for a while that the Pharaoh might grow attached to you. There wasn't any husband better than a Pharaoh.

You would have been fine with a wealthy merchant's son or something similar to be honest. The idea of marrying a man with so much power terrified you. There was a tale about a Pharaoh who locked his wife in a room full of snakes just because she displeased him. Snakes terrified you more than the idea of marrying a Pharaoh that you didn't know. The possibility of encountering snakes after marrying an unknown man was doubly terrifying.

Of course there was no guarantee that he would like you. None at all. Of course in the worst case scenario he hated you, or you did something to offend him, and then he had you killed.

This situation demanded your nicest outfit.

The moment you were ushered into the Pharaoh's court you began to run through all the procedures in your head. Greeting the Pharaoh incorrectly was something that could easily get you killed. Especially if the Pharaoh enjoying killing people who offended him.

You barely glanced at the man decked in gold as you arrived in front of his dais. It was difficult to stay dignified as you quickly dropped to the floor and fell into the correct posture for greeting a god.

“Rise.”

Thanks to a great deal of practice, you easily stood back up despite your heavy formal attire.

Atem greeted you and welcomed you to his court. You thanked him.

Then there was a moment of silence. You knew that this was where you were supposed to make some sort of engaging observation. This was the socially acceptable moment to begin a conversation with the Pharaoh.

Yet you were too frozen with fear to say anything. You couldn't think of a single thing to say to him. You didn't know what he might be interested in talking about and it would be easy to say the wrong thing on accident.

When the Pharaoh realized that you had nothing more to say he dismissed you by ordering a slave to take you to your room. You thanked him once more and tried not to run as you left the room.

After you were led to your room you inquired about the Pharaoh's temples. If possible you wanted to go to all of them today and thank the gods for allowing you to make it through your first meeting with the Pharaoh. Then you wanted to ask for protection for the rest of your stay. The slave gave you quick directions to the temples and ran away before you could ask for anything else.

Either his directions weren't very good or you didn't remember them properly. You got lost trying to find the temples and eventually you couldn't even find your way back to your room.

“You've walked past here at least twice. Are you already lost?”

You spun around, looking for the source of the voice, and your eyes landed on a man lounging nearby. He was sitting in an alcove, quietly reading a pile of parchment, which explained why you hadn't noticed him. He was looking at you with the most interesting set of blue eyes.

“Yes. I was looking for the temples and now I don't know where I am.” You started to introduce yourself to the man but he interrupted your introduction.

“I know who you are. I was present for your introduction to the court earlier today.” He seemed to be studying you. “You're not very observant are you.”

You could feel your face heat up at his rude comment. You wanted to defend yourself but you didn't know what to say. What if this man was someone important? “Would you help me find my room?” you finally asked.

“Why would I know where your room is?” He raised an eyebrow.

You were sure that your face must be a bright shade of red by now. He was right, you assumed too much. “I'll... just be on my way then.”

“Wait a moment.”

You froze and wondered what the strange man wanted.

He carefully piled his parchment before picking up the pile and standing. “Follow me,” he ordered.

You followed him. You didn't have much of a choice in the matter. “Where are we going?”

“My rooms.” You nearly had a heart attack when you heard those words. Thankfully he continued, “I'll put my papers away and then I'll lead you to the temples.”

“Thank you.” You were relieved that he was actually going to show you somewhere. At least if you were at the temples you wouldn't be lost in an unknown section of the palace. Plus you might be able to find someone who could show you back to your room.

That was the last thing that he said, but you noticed that there were more and more slaves running around as the two of you continued your journey. You wondered why the section that you were just in seemed so abandoned. Hopefully it wasn't because the entire area was off limits.

You really needed to give thanks to the gods that you were surviving your first day so far.

\-----

It took you about a week to get used to finding your way around the Pharaoh's court. During that time you discovered that the section normally reserved for the Pharaoh's concubines was completely empty. Not that you were surprised. The Pharaoh's lack of interest in anyone at all was well known, but it made you wonder if that was where you ended up while you were lost.

“Are you a eunuch?” you asked when you found him in the concubine wing again. It was a rude question, but it seemed to be a logical explanation.

“No. Would you like me to prove it?”

You shook your head 'no', too shocked by his question to actually say anything.

“What are you even doing here?” he asked.

“I wanted to know why you spend time sitting around here. It's the concubines' wing and completely empty.”

“Exactly. I won't be bothered by anyone here.” He pointedly stared at you.

You were uncomfortable under his stare, and you still didn't know his identity. During the past week, you hadn't spent much time around the other people living in the Pharaoh's court.

It was a little lonely.

“I just wanted to thank you for helping me out. I would have wandered around here completely lost for a long time if not for you.”

“Yes, and you never would have been able to ask the gods for the Pharaoh's attention.”

His comment wasn't very loud, but you still heard it. “That's not what I asked for,” you objected.

“No? Then what did you pray for?”

You were vaguely insulted. “That's between myself and the gods.”

He hummed, and you knew that he didn't believe you. “I prayed that I wouldn't get the Pharaoh's attention. I just want to survive my stay here without angering him. I still don't know who you are, but you seem to know your way around here.” He'd helped you out on your first day. You were just hoping that he would help you out again. “Please help me.”

He began to laugh. You couldn't do anything but stare as he laughed at your earnest plea for help. What was so funny?

“You don't know anything do you? How did you even manage to get an invitation to court?” he finally said.

“My father arranged it.” You were thoroughly embarrassed at this point. “I think I'm supposed to be expanding my studies with one of the high priests. Nobody has mentioned it, but I admittedly haven't seen much of anyone since I arrived.”

“You were probably meant to study under Isis. Of course you should have asked the Pharaoh about it when you arrived.”

Ra smite it! You knew that you should have said something to the Pharaoh on that first day. You began to panic. “What do I do now?”

“Talk to the Pharaoh. Or Isis. I imagine either of them could help you.”

“But they're such important people!” It wasn't like you could just look for them and then talk to them. There were rules and regulations when it came to talking to people like them. Your mystery man raised an eyebrow and you realized your mistake. “Not that **you** aren't important, I can tell that you are, but you're nice. They might not be.”

He seemed to consider what you'd said for a moment. “You could study under me, but I warn you, I'll make you work hard.”

“I... um... what?” You felt like your brain was no longer working.

He lifted his tunic and pulled out a golden rod with the eye of Horus on it. “If you don't know what this is, and what it means, I refuse to take you as a student.”

That was one of the millennium items. Everyone knew what they were. If he had the rod it meant that he was...

You bowed deeply. “High Priest Seto! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't recognize you! Please don't feed me to snakes!”

How could you talk to a man like him so casually? You were going to die. The gods played a cruel trick on you by having you run into this man.

“Calm down you foolish woman.”

You closed your mouth and stopped talking.

“Your studies under me will begin now. Here, carry my stuff to the temple for me.” He shoved all his scrolls at you. “Follow me.”

“Yes!” You took his stuff and began to follow him. “Thank you for helping me.”

“Don't thank me until you survive.”

\-----

Weeks passed by in a blur as Seto kept you busy. You almost never saw the Pharaoh while you were working with Seto. Even when he was called to the Pharaoh's side he always left you behind to clean up his stuff or sent you off to do something for him.

It didn't bother you at all. You never wanted to marry the Pharaoh in the first place. That was something that your father wanted you to do. In fact you were secretly thankful that you never had to interact with the Pharaoh.

If you had your way, well, you would marry Priest Seto. He was arrogant but a nice person despite his status. He helped you out by allowing you to stay with him, and you suspected that he remembered your earlier request and was intentionally keeping you away from the Pharaoh. It helped that he was also incredibly attractive.

Not that he would ever be interested in someone like you. He was much smarter than you were and knew far more than you did. He was always correcting you and sometimes he teased you about your lack of knowledge.

Plus he was always asking you how long you planned on staying in the Pharaoh's court. Just this morning you'd received a letter from your father, and Seto was already asking you if the letter meant that you planned on going home soon.

“No, he said that I have to stay here until I'm engaged,” you informed Seto. You tried not to let it show that you were upset that Seto wanted to be rid of you. “I'm sorry. I know it must be a burden on you to have me around.”

“Then shouldn't you spend less time with me and more time trying to get the Pharaoh's attention?”

He wasn't looking at you, so you didn't know exactly what he meant by that statement. “Are you telling me to go away? Because I will if you don't want me around.”

“No. If I wanted you to go away I would say so.”

That was a relief. You smiled at him. “I'd rather spend my time with you than the Pharaoh. He still scares me. Honestly I'm hoping that eventually my father will get impatient and give up on the idea of marrying me to the Pharaoh.”

“Do you think that if he received an offer for you that he would take it?”

You thought about that for a moment. “He might. It would depend on who made the offer.” If Priest Seto made an offer for you... well, your father would probably accept. Not that Seto would do anything like that. “I doubt anyone will make an offer for me anytime soon.” You wanted Seto to object to that. You wanted him to tell you that he was going to ask your father for your hand.

He didn't say anything. He just went back to work without another comment. Your heart sank and disappointment washed over you. Then you told yourself that you were foolish for hoping that he felt something for you.

\-----

You couldn't believe your eyes. You read over your father's missive once more. The message stayed the same. Priest Seto wanted to marry you. Your father approved of the match. He was calling you home so that you could prepare for the ceremony but the important part was that **Seto wanted you as his wife!**

You couldn't believe it. It was the best news in the world. There was no way something that amazing could be true. You needed to talk to Seto.

There was a knock at the doors to your room. You called out for whoever it was to enter, assuming it would be a servant. It was Seto.

He saw the letter in your hands the moment he entered the room, and his eyes seemed to scan your face. “I see your father sent you a letter with the news.”

“Is it true? Do you...” You meant to ask him if he wanted you, but you couldn't get the words out. What if the answer was no? “Did you ask for his permission to marry me?”

“I entered negotiations with him a week ago. I'm surprised it took him this long to inform you.” He was still studying your face. “I met up with him in the city yesterday and we finally reached an agreement. I would have expected him to mention this to you before that.”

That explained why Seto had been missing on and off for the past week. He was meeting with your father to negotiate although you had no idea why he thought your father would think to inform you.

“Does this displease you?”

“No! I'm just surprised.” You decided to take a chance. “I really like the idea of marrying you.”

“Good. That means I won't be forced to convince you.”

That gave you hope. “If I didn't like the idea, you were going to convince me to marry you?” He nodded. “How?”

He grinned. “You'll have to wait until we're married for a demonstration.”  


End file.
